


Of Flowers and Ink

by lucasashtons



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, TattooArtist!Luke, florist!ashton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-13 00:05:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3360374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucasashtons/pseuds/lucasashtons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke had heard many myths of the soul mate system, most of them, of course, staying myths. Most of them were ridiculous, because he knew there was no such thing as fate anymore. One of the myths was that there was a possibility of a second chance: someone could find another soul mate if the other one they had died. Luke didn’t really keep his hopes up for that, mainly because it seemed ridiculous to hold such a high hope for a second chance at love. </p><p>or, Luke doesn't believe in second chances, but the cute florist across the street might just change that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Flowers and Ink

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rocketshiptospace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocketshiptospace/gifts).



> this has been sitting in my drafts for three, almost four months now. I dedicate it to Ellie, who I hope had a wonderful Valentine's Day :)

The glass in his hand had been empty for a quite a while, though he made no attempt to get the bartender’s attention to get it refilled. He had been focused on the shades of grey that illuminated off of the empty glass, the shades changing whenever he rotated it to its side. The black counter top he sat at had various carvings in it, including various phone numbers, names, cuss words, and the occasional poorly drawn dick. He found his eyes tracing those as well, how all of the carvings were a grey color, just like the glass.

 

He remembers when he could see the world in bursts of color. The glass in his hand was filled with amber colored liquid, the table was a midnight blue instead of black, and the bar stool he sat in was an ugly yellow color. He remembers how they had met in this very bar two years ago, two lonely souls that managed to find love again within each other.

 

Two years ago, Luke was the happiest person alive.

 

“Do you want me to refill that?” the bartender asked him, hand reaching for the empty glass Luke had been playing with for the past hour. Luke tore his attention away from the various carvings and nodded to the bartender, handing him the glass before deciding to take out his sketchpad, hoping that maybe some new drawing ideas would come to him as he moped.

 

It wasn’t long before someone sat down next to him, Luke noticing ripped up skinny jeans and hands clasped together with initials tattooed along them. He knew the person without having to look up at their face. After all, he was the one who tattooed those initials on them. He lifted his head from his sketch of his glass to look into the eyes of his best friend. “How did you know I was here?”

 

Calum turned his body to face the bar, motioning for the bartender to give him what Luke was having. “Michael told me, said you went straight here after work. He said you were having another off day again and suggested I come over here and make sure that you don’t drink yourself to death.” When the bartender came back with his drink Calum held his hand up. “How many has he had?”

 

“It’s only his second,” the man replied, giving Calum a reassuring smile. “He already told me to make sure he doesn’t go over five drinks.”

 

Calum hummed, giving the man a thank you before taking a sip of his own drink. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself Luke. I understand how upset you are, I can’t begin to imagine how it must feel like to be in your position, but you need to make yourself feel better. Coming here every single day after work isn’t going to bring her back.”

 

It did though: every night when Luke got drunk she came to him in a haze. Her beautiful brown hair was still wrapped up in a bun, her brilliant smile still beaming at him, and the yellow sundress she wore that very last day was still hugging her body in the way Luke had always loved. He knew it was wrong, to drink himself to death almost every night just to see her hazy figure but it made him happier to see her alive again, even if it was just him hallucinating.

“I’m aware Cal,” Luke replied, taking another drink. “It sure does give me a lot of design ideas though, before you came in I was working on a masterpiece.” He hands Calum his sketchpad, where a brilliant drawing of a hummingbird wrapped up in ribbons rested. The only thing Calum noticed was wrong with the drawing was the lack of color to bring the bird to life. Luke must have noticed the observation because he tore the sketchbook away from the boy, slamming it back down on the bar in frustration.

 

“Want me to give it color?” Calum asked, trying to help his friend. Instead Luke sent him a deadly glare, and Calum shrunk back into his seat, taking another drink. “Sorry, that was rude of me. It is really good though Luke, do you mind if I ask what inspired it?”

 

“Her,” Luke replied, clearing his throat. He took a final sip of his drink before handing the glass over to the bartender, telling him to fill it up again. “The hummingbird represents how she made me feel, how fast my heart beat when I was around her. The ribbons around the bird represent how no matter how hard I tried to tie down my feelings I never could.”

 

It broke Calum’s heart to hear of his friend’s heartbreak. Losing a soul mate did things to a person, things that were practically indescribable to the people who suffered from it. Calum wouldn’t wish the pain his friend was currently enduring on anyone. He made damn sure that Luke was around people he loved after what had happened, just to make sure that the boy didn’t completely fall apart in the end, and while his attempts had been mostly successful, he had noticed Luke’s mood deflate in the past few months. It had only been a year but Calum knew it still felt like a fresh wound.

 

After a few more drinks, Calum made sure to get Luke home to his and Michael’s apartment safely, the blond boy’s steps uneven and making him almost fall over. Calum knew he should have cut him off after his second drink, knowing that Luke would never stop if he went over that limit. He knocked gently on the door to the loft, still holding Luke up when Michael opened the door, Xbox controller in hand with a headset on, obviously speaking to someone through it.

 

“Hey, I gotta  disconnect, my boyfriend just brought my drunk roommate back home,” there was some mumbling on the other end before Michael tossed the headset off and turned off the controller, taking Luke from Calum. “How many did he have this time?”

 

“Six,” Calum replied, helping Michael strip Luke of his clothes and struggling to place the boy into his pajamas. “Bartender cut him off, told him I could just take him instead of calling a cab.” When they had placed Luke back in his bed they gently closed his bedroom door before Calum sighed. “He was thinking of Jane again.”

 

Michael pursed his lips. “A year later and he’s still a complete mess. I wish there was something we could do, I hate seeing him like this.”

 

“There is nothing for us to do,” Calum replied, walking back to the living room and sitting himself down on the couch, Michael following after him. He fell into Calum’s embrace and the two of them snuggled together. “I look at it from a certain perspective. He lost his soul mate, someone who made his world fill with color. Losing someone that meant the world to you can kill a person inside. If I lost you, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. I know it’s selfish but whenever Luke talks about it, I put myself in his shoes. If I lost you, I would probably be reacting that same way Luke is.”

 

“For an entire year though?” Michael questioned, adjusting himself so that he could face Calum directly. “Luke has been in this deep funk for an entire year, and yes I know losing your soul mate and the colors could really deeply affect someone, but after an entire year wouldn’t you eventually try to live life again?”

 

The conversation seemed to die there, the only sounds in the apartment now were Luke’s snores and the video game’s music on the pause screen. Was Luke being irrational about his feelings? He had lost the one person in the entire world he was fated to be with and a year later was still as upset and distraught as he was the moment he heard the news. It was unhealthy, and Calum was beginning to think they needed to take their friend to a doctor and get him some real help.

 

Luke wasn’t the first case of this of course, there were many cases where your soul mate would die and your world would be sent back to the black and white it was before you met them. Most of them lost their minds, not understanding how to go on without your true love while others eventually got over the loss and continued to live their lives as they did before they had met them. You could still see the pain in their eyes though, knowing that you never really could get over something like that.

 

*

 

The next morning Luke woke up to an arrangement of flowers sitting on his bedside table.

 

He wasn’t sure where they had come from, knowing for sure that he wasn’t the person that had put them there. They were resting in a large vase, various different flowers bursting from the top. While the beautiful shades of color did not appear in his eyes, he could still admire them by their various shades of grey. He recognized tulips, and he lightly touched the petals.

 

“Do you like them?” Michael’s voice asked, Luke turning towards the doorway to see his friend walking into his room and taking a seat on his bed. “Calum went to the flower shop across the street from the parlor and picked them out for you. They’re yellow, yellow tulips represent joy and good thoughts, because both of us know that’s what you need.”

 

Luke gave him a smile, lifting himself off the bed before wrapping his arms around his friend. “They are beautiful, thank you Michael.” He turned back to the flowers, sadness still in his heart but feeling a little more comforted at the sight of the flowers. “There’s a flower shop across the street from my parlor?”

Michael nodded. “I never noticed it either! It’s a pretty tiny shop, pretty easy to miss if you’re trying to look for it. The guy that owns it is a pretty nice guy though, gave Calum and me a discount on these flowers once we told him what they were for.”

 

“You told a complete stranger that your best friend’s soul mate died in a car accident and he needed flowers to stop thinking about how much he wants to die?” Luke retorted, understanding that Michael meant well but pissed that Michael told someone his situation.

 

“No!” Michael insisted, waving a hand at his friend. “I told him how our friend has been pretty upset lately and he recommended this bouquet. He’s a pretty sweet guy, you should go over to the shop and meet him sometime.”

 

Luke nodded, yawning and stretching out his aching muscles. “I guess I could do that before I open the shop today, do you remember how many appointments we have today?” Luke hadn’t been really keeping track of anything that happened at his job for the past year, too absorbed on Jane to really focus on anything else.

 

“Six, but the first one doesn’t really start until noon so you have time,” Michael got up off his bed and began to head towards the bathroom. “Want me to start you a shower? Pretty sure Calum didn’t use all of the hot water this time.”

 

“That would be nice, thank you,” Luke rubbed his tired eyes and grabbed his towel from where it had been hung across the back of his desk chair. He heard the shower water start up and began walking towards the bathroom, only to be stopped with a hug form Michael. Hesitantly he wraps his arms around his best friend and squeezes back.

 

“I know it’s still hurting,” Michael whispered to him, holding him close. “It hurts like hell I bet, but please don’t ever say you want to die Luke, I don’t want to lose you.” Luke felt wetness tickly his neck and began to hold his friend a little tighter, now realizing that while he had been so clouded with his pain and suffering over Jane, his friends feelings had been casted aside. He never really thought about how they were handling their friend shutting down and wishing for death, he was so worried about himself it didn’t cross his mind.

 

So he pulled away from Michael, wiping his best friend’s tears away, and pressed a gentle kiss to the boy’s forehead to comfort him. It wasn’t much, but Luke felt it could help, even if it was just a little bit. “I don’t want to lose you, same goes for Calum. Both of you mean the world to me, and while I haven’t really shown that as of late I do mean it, I really do. I’m gonna try and get better for you two, you’ve been patient enough.”

 

Michael began to shake his head. “No, you take your time okay? I don’t care if it takes you two years to get better Luke, I want you to get better on your own terms. What happened to you was horrible, and it’s a lot to take in. We’re not mad at you for grieving. It’s just, it’s almost as if you weren’t trying to get past it, that’s all.”

 

Luke knew Michael was right too, he hadn’t been trying too hard to get past what had happened. He preferred moping around and being sad, not even bothering to do things that made him happy. Most of the things he did were things with Jane after all.

 

“I’m gonna go shower,” Luke sighed, tossing the towel on his shoulder and heading towards the bathroom. “Then head over to that flower shop. Maybe I’ll be happier around flowers?”

 

Michael gave him a soft smile. “Maybe.”

 

*

 

Ashton wasn’t sure what made him want to become a florist. Growing up he never had an interest in flowers, though he thinks he was influenced by his mother, who had always brought home a bouquet of roses almost once a month, stating that they were from some secret admirer at work.

 

Ashton believes he fell in love with the idea of the romantic part of flowers.

 

It still rose eyebrows whenever people met Ashton at his flower shop, asking for purple lilacs or yellow agrimony and Ashton would always end up fetching on of his co-workers instead of helping them. Most of the time Ashton insisted it was because he was currently busy with other things around the shop, when in reality, it’s because Ashton’s world had yet to turn colorful.

 

He had yet to meet his soul mate, though he loved the very idea of them since he was younger. The thought that no matter who you were, there was someone out there to love you made him smile. He believed that everyone was worthy of love and that there was someone out there for everyone, a perfect match.

 

The bell at the top of the door rang loudly throughout the shop and Ashton turned over to look who had just came in, noticing the familiar face of the tattoo artist that owned the parlor across the street. He had never properly met Luke Hemmings, only seen him in passing, but he was enamored by the boy.  He had seen most of the boy’s artwork on people that came into his shop and it was beautiful. He wanted so badly to go across the street and get one of his own but always backed out last minute, fear getting the best of him.

 

He moved from behind the counter, about to walk towards Luke to help him when the boy looked up, both of them locking eyes and Ashton felt a wave of dizziness hit him at that exact moment. His world became bright, the black and white vanishing as various shades of colors Ashton had never seen before came into his eyes. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as the overwhelming sensation took over, Ashton still trying to grasp the situation firmly.

 

_He locked eyes with tattoo boy and his world was now colorful. Tattoo boy was his soul mate._

 

*

 

Luke had heard many myths of the soul mate system, most of them, of course, staying myths. Most of them were ridiculous, because he knew there was no such thing as fate anymore. He’d lost all hope in fate and fairy tales when Jane was taken away from him.

 

One of the myths was that there was a possibility of a second chance: someone could find another soul mate if the other one they had died. Luke didn’t really keep his hopes up for that, mainly because it seemed ridiculous to hold such a high hope for a second chance at love. Plus, he knew that he would never find someone as special as Jane was no matter how hard he looked.

 

So he didn’t understand when he locked eyes with the florist, his world began to burst with color again.

 

It was just as overwhelming as the first time had been, the dizzying sensation hitting him without warning, the blinding light as colors swarmed into his vision. He’d taken aback the moment it happens and as soon as the colors settle he blinks, taking in the decorative green and blue walls, the various colors of the bouquets, and the boy in front of him who is staring at him in wonder.

 

This couldn’t be happening, no.

 

“A-are you alright?” the florist is asking him, stepping closer to Luke and Luke finds himself stumbling back, avoiding the boy’s touch. This wasn’t right, this wasn’t supposed to be happening. Jane was his soul mate, Jane was _dead._ This is a massive fluke. There was no possible way that his florist was his second chance, because second chances didn’t exist.

 

Luke shakes his head. “No, no this isn’t right. I’m not supposed, you’re not supposed to…” he’s suddenly heading towards the door, tumbling backwards into it. He manages to catch himself before his butt collides with the concrete outside before he’s darting across the street to his parlor, bursting through the unlocked door with tears pouring down his cheeks.

 

Was this the universe’s way of slapping him in the face? Telling him, “Hey, in an effort to get over your dead soul mate, why don’t we give you another one?” It was the last thing he wanted, another person he could lose. He didn’t want to go through losing someone again, he wasn’t sure he could handle it.

 

Calum finds him a few minutes later, his face filling with concern. “It’s alright, just let it out okay?” He’s gathered into the boy’s arms and he clings to him, sobbing loudly into his shoulder as Calum holds him tight and runs his hand through his hair. It’s soothing, and Luke wishes they could stay like this: he just wants to be held.

 

When the pull away, Luke looks up at Calum’s hair and pauses. “I know Mikey said you got a blonde streak in your hair but I had no idea it was that much blond.”

 

Calum freezes. “Luke what? How did you…” It’s then that he seems to piece it together what happened and now he’s sitting in front of Luke gaping like a fish. “Holy shit you went and saw the florist, and the florist…oh my god.” He’s getting up from where he’d been sitting on the floor with Luke and darting out the door. “Michael! Get in here its important!”

 

*

 

Michael tells him that he should take this as a sign: that Luke deserved a second chance. Calum told him to at least _talk_ to the florist. After all it was pretty damn rude to just run out of there without an explanation.

 

Luke was terrified.

 

He was standing outside of the flower shop, peeking inside to see the florist in there organizing various arrangements and looking pretty dreadful. He remembers what Calum had told him about the guy, how he was practically sunshine and happiness. Luke knows he probably crushed that and now he feels even guiltier.

 

Taking a deep breath, he steps forward and opens the door to the flower shop. The minute the door closes behind him the florist is turning to look at him with the most heartbroken glance he had ever seen. He feels guilt stabbing at his gut as those hazel eyes look at him with what appears to be both hatred and longing.

 

“I see you came back,” he says, his voice bitter. Luke doesn’t blame him. “Is there something I can help you with?” He’s running a hand through unruly curls and avoiding eye contact, something Luke knows he’s been prone to do every once and a while. Maybe they really were meant to be.

 

“I wanted to apologize for running out,” Luke says, leaning against the counter the florist is currently sitting behind. “That was rude, but I promise it wasn’t because I was disappointed in finding my soul mate. I was just surprised.”

 

“So was I,” the florist replies, his voice softer than it had been before. “I’ve heard for years about this colors and when I finally find someone that helps me see them they run away. I know it’s a shocking thing but if you had stuck around we could have figured it out together.” He holds out his hand, rough and calloused. “I’m Ashton Irwin, I happen to own this shop. Seems weird that I decided to own a flower shop when I couldn’t see color but,” he shrugs. “It felt right.”

 

Luke grins at him, taking his hand. He expected the feeling of electricity running through his veins like it had with Jane, but instead it has the feeling of coming home, comfort. It’s different and he’s wondering if it’s a sign of a brand new start.

 

Maybe that’s what he needed: someone new to show him that his world really wasn’t ending after all.

 

“Luke Hemmings,” he says before turning and pointing to his tattoo parlor. “I own the tattoo parlor across the street from here. Another thing that would be pretty odd with not having colors.” He wonders how to bring up the situation with Jane, but he’s really not sure if he even can without breaking down again.

 

He looks back and sees Ashton, really looks at him, and suddenly feels like he’s known him for his entire life. It’s another terrifying feeling that makes Luke wonder if he should really be getting involved with this whole mess again. In the end it would probably end up ruining him once again. He knows he couldn’t handle losing his soul mate a second time, knows what it would do to him going through it all over again.

 

“Just call us the odd couple,” Ashton chuckles and Luke finds himself cracking a smile at the joke. The feeling of dread that had loomed over the two of them seemed to fade as they continued to share smiles, Luke asking more about the flowers while Ashton discusses his hopes of one day getting the courage to get a tattoo. It’s cozy, and Luke finds himself feeling more at home here in the flower shop with Ashton than he has anywhere else.

 

“As much as I hate opening closed wounds,” Ashton says, still lightly laughing from the past subject they had been discussing. “Is there, um, a reason you ran out on me before? I know you said it was because you were surprised about finding your soul mate, and I believe you! It’s just, the look in your eyes when you saw me said something else entirely.” He looks down at his thumbs, fiddling with them nervously as he if he overstepped his boundaries.

 

Luke purses his lips, trying to think of how to talk about Jane, how to explain to his new soul mate how his old one left an open wound. Michael and Calum were practically the only ones he’d ever discussed it with. To discuss it with someone else felt….well….refreshing in a way. Almost as if he was finally letting it go after so long.

 

“I had a soul mate, before I met you,” he starts, biting at his lip ring. “She was everything to me, one of the most amazing and generous people you could have ever met in your life. She brought color into my world, literally, and just made everything so much better.” He pauses to take in Ashton’s expression, the boy just looking at him with sympathy and love. “About a year ago, she passed away. It was awful, one moment being able to see the world and all of its beauty, the next being dragged back to the awful darkness everything had been before.

 

“Seeing you today, locking eyes with you, all of the colors came rushing back as if they had never left. I was panicking because I didn’t think that was possible. I’ve never believe in second chances, another chance to finally be with someone who loves you and is meant to be with you, because I didn’t think it was possible to have another shot at a soul mate.”

 

“And now?”

 

Luke looks up from where he’d been staring at his hands and meets the face of a boy who looks at him like Jane had: a heart full of love, the most sincere feelings rising to the surface as his hazel eyes bore into Luke’s ocean blue ones. It felt like falling, and Luke only wanted Ashton to catch him.

 

“Now all that’s going through my head is how much I want to kiss you right now,” Luke confesses, blushing. “I-I mean if that’s okay with you.”

 

Ashton lets out a small laugh, a beautiful melody that has Luke feeling fond for the florist. “I’m not opposed to that, but I need to know if you are completely sure about it. After all, you just finished telling me how you’ve spent the past year mourning your first soul mate. I don’t want you thinking that you have to love me when you are not even sure yourself.”

 

It almost breaks Luke’s heart to hear how much Ashton truly cares for him, them having only met that morning. He’s flooded with guilt, knowing that while this is his second experience with soul mates, this is Ashton’s first.

 

He intends to make it Ashton’s last.

 

Luke leans forward, hand cupping Ashton’s cheek before pressing a kiss to Ashton’s lips. The florist’s lips are smooth, gentle underneath Luke’s as they return the kiss with such care and delicacy that Luke feels like he’s something fragile. When they pull away he can’t stop the smile that forms on his face, matching Ashton’s.

 

“I think I’m pretty sure that I just had the most amazing kiss,” Luke smiles, making Ashton blush a pink color. Luke decides he loves that color on Ashton the most. “And that maybe second chances are possible, and I shouldn’t just let them pass by.”

 

He feels rough, calloused hands intertwine their fingers, and another kiss is being pressed to his lips again. This time it’s a little deeper, but still contains the same sweetness as their first kiss did. “No, you shouldn’t.” Ashton replies, their noses brushing. “I have to go back to work, but how about I stop by the tattoo parlor later, we can go get dinner?”

 

“That sounds perfect.” Luke replies, quickly pecking Ashton’s lips before waving goodbye, heading back to his tattoo parlor with a smile on his face, and for the first time since Jane died, love in his heart.

 

*

 

Luke still thinks about her. He thinks about how beautiful she was, how much love he had for her when she was alive. She left an impact on Luke’s life, one that he can’t exactly erase despite how much he had wanted to after she passed away.

 

Now he has Ashton, the one who brought the colors back, the one who day after day continues to remind Luke that if you get a second chance at falling in love, you take it.

 

Fast forward months later, where he’s lying in bed with his soul mate in his arms, tracing the new tattoo Ashton finally mustered up the courage to get after so much convincing.

 

A beautiful yellow rose.

**Author's Note:**

> A yellow rose represents second chances, so Ashton getting that as a tattoo represents that he is Luke's second chance :)
> 
> Come find me on tumblr at lucasashtons :)


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